The Frontier

Patti Smith describes her childhood connection to nature as 'communing without words' with animals and siblings, and later links this openness to artistic channeling on stage.

Patti Smith's father, a factory worker, believed the mind was a 'country' to be developed through relentless study of philosophy, religion, and science, which instilled in her a love of personal evolution.

Patti Smith's artistic calling was triggered at age 12 by seeing Picasso's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, describing the experience as being 'struck by lightning' in her heart.

Patti Smith argues children's books and fairy tales of her era were darker and more accepted as fantasy, while today's news presents a more terrifying and concrete reality of human hypocrisy and conflict.

Smith says a passage from an Irish fairy tale book, 'All desires save one are fleeting, but that one lasts forever - the desire for wisdom... I would make a poem,' felt like a foundational stone on her life's path.

Patti Smith views true, exceptional poetry as a distilled essence that can satisfy like a drop of water becoming a liter for the thirsty, citing poets like Rilke, Plath, and Dylan Thomas.

Smith describes late-1960s New York as a place of freedom and cheap housing where 'misfits' converged, fueled by shared music, anti-war sentiment, and movements for civil, gay, and women's rights.

Patti Smith attributes the era's generative art scene to the Kennedy administration elevating culture in the American consciousness and the physical proximity of major artists living and working in the city.

Patti Smith rejects the label 'musician,' calling herself a 'worker' and a performer who connects with audiences without fear, citing her debut with a drummer at The Bitter End and meeting Bob Dylan that night as pivotal.

Patti Smith left her rock star fame in the 1980s to move to Michigan, feeling she had become 'unrecognizable to herself' and needed to evolve as a human and artist outside the public eye.

Smith describes writing as a daily muscle to exercise, distinguishing between laborious, studied work and rare, gifted moments of reception, like the phrase 'rebel hump' that came to her and structured her book 'A Book of Angels.'

Patti Smith's final answer to her childhood question is that the soul is 'the color of water,' an energy she believes continues traveling after death, and she maintains faith in accessing past joys and her creative calling.

Patti Smith recommends 'Pinocchio' and 'Frankenstein' as complementary tales of creating life, Sylvia Plath's poetry, and Roberto Bolaño's '2666,' which she calls a 21st-century masterpiece.

Pema Chödrön says the central spiritual question is not how to avoid discomfort, but how we relate to it. The Buddhist method is to become intimate with discomfort, not eradicate it.

Chödrön teaches a tangible practice for relating to difficult emotions. First, pause and stop following the mental storyline. Then locate the physical sensation, like a contraction in the solar plexus, and send warmth or tenderness toward it.

The key habit shift is from rejecting uncomfortable feelings to agreeing with them. Chödrön illustrates this with a story about her teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who, when asked about fear, replied simply, 'I agree. I agree. I agree.'

Chödrön distinguishes between unavoidable pain and optional suffering. Pain is direct physical or emotional experience, while suffering is the layer of mental storylines and resistance we add on top.

Ezra Klein describes a personal experiment of riding the subway without devices, using it as active meditation. He found it demanding but ultimately helped him feel more relaxed and present.

Chödrön identifies the constant quest for comfort as a barrier to growth. She cites someone who told Ezra Klein that one's capacity for growth directly correlates with their tolerance for discomfort.

For Chödrön, meditation's purpose is to know yourself intimately and fearlessly with friendliness. It provides a forum to see your habits clearly and agree with what you see, rather than seeking calm or bliss.

Progress in meditation includes moving from 'hot boredom' to 'cool boredom.' Hot boredom is the restless urge to escape; cool boredom is the ability to sit with the feeling without needing to fill the space.

Chödrön clarifies that non-resistance does not mean accepting harmful situations. She gives the example of a woman in an abusive relationship, to whom her clear advice was to leave, not to sit and meditate on her feelings.

Chödrön sees the practice of abiding with discomfort as a way to enable more effective action. When less afraid of difficult emotions, a wider range of important but risky conversations and decisions become possible.

Chödrön defines contentment as the deep peace from not struggling against life's unfolding. She attributes her own contentment to decades of meditation, not outer circumstances.

Pema Chödrön recommends three books to the audience: 'Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior' by Chögyam Trungpa, 'Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind' by Suzuki Roshi, and 'Enlightened Vagabond' by Matthieu Ricard.

Tom Steyer says California's construction costs are high due to labor, materials, and financing. He argues modular housing can cut costs by 20% and that a new $22 billion state fund would eliminate the 'unfunded mandate' driving local opposition.

A 2022 RAND Corporation study shows construction speed is the main driver of higher costs in California. A multifamily project takes 49 months in California versus 27 months in Texas and 37 in Colorado.

Katie Porter argues the state should consolidate its fractured affordable housing funding into a single pot to cut delays. She also believes caps on local fees and a uniform permit process are necessary to lower costs.

Javier Becerra supports a $10 billion housing bond for affordable housing while arguing for prevailing wage in large projects. An analysis he cites found prevailing wage standards add about $94,000 to the cost of each housing unit.

Matt Mahan says San Jose cut local housing fees by two-thirds, which led to 2,000 new homes starting construction last year. He argues the state should cap all local fees to prevent projects from becoming unfeasible.